AL 2B

Yankees: Robinson Cano
Red Sox: Mark Loretta
Blue Jays: Aaron Hill
Devil Rays: Jorge Cantu
Orioles: Brian Roberts

White Sox: Tadahito Iguchi
Twins: Luis Castillo
Indians: Ron Belliard
Tigers: Placido Polanco
Royals: Mark Grudzalaniek

Angels: Adam Kennedy
A’s: Mark Ellis
Rangers: D’Angelo Jimenez
Mariners: Jose Lopez


A very nice group of players. I would not be upset with any of them on my roster, although Grudzalaniek would have to be $1 and the last of them available in the draft.

The danger spots are in the AL West. Adam Kennedy will be out of regular job by season’s end. Whether it is Figgins at 2B if Wood is at 3B or Kendrick at 2B with Figgins in CF (Erstad injured), I cannot determine with nothing more than Jean Dixon accuracy though. In the meantime, Kennedy will be a decent Roto player and could continue to do so if he is dealt to an AL team.

Jose Lopez has no other competition behind and deserves to half a season to keep the job. I addressed him here when I covered the Mariners. I would not be surprised to see the Mariners grab a veteran second baseman, though. (Fernando Vina does not count because he is done due to injury but a healthy Vina would certainly be the exact type of veteran I refer to.)

D’Angelo Jiminez is the one most likely to cause you to do a double-take because Ian Kinsler is the top prospect in the Rangers organization and the anointed successor. This automatically gets him on my sleeper list. The herd is on Kinsler. Also, his banishment last season by Cincinnatti has certainly decreased any positive perceptions that may have existed after his good 2003 and slightly better 2004. And he is only 28 years-old.

(I touched upon this earlier here.)